The rise of the athlete arrival economy
And the opportunity for athletes, teams, leagues, brands and media
Today’s newsletter is presented by Victory Lap
Australia’s premier sports marketing and creative summit, Victory Lap, has revealed its lineup of international and local speakers, bringing together the creative leaders reshaping how global sport is built, marketed and experienced. Taking place 7 – 8 July 2026 at Brisbane Powerhouse, the two-day summit arrives as Brisbane enters its six-year countdown to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, reinforcing the city’s growing role as a meeting point for global sport, culture and creativity.
Melbourne Storm welcomed Dare Iced Coffee (owned by Bega Group) to the Club as a new partner - As part of the 2-year deal, the “Dare Defensive Play of the Week” will run across the Storm’s digital channels, shining a spotlight on standout defensive moments across the NRL season
Gold Coast SUNS and SOLO Energy entered into a new multi-year partnership - Following its official launch into the energy drink market last year, SOLO Energy will now be available to purchase on match days at People First Stadium
Fremantle Dockers unveiled a new WA defence partnership - working alongside the WA Government, the partnership will underpin a range of initiatives, including joint community events, leadership and training programs, opportunities for defence industry participation at Club activities, and collaborative projects that support veterans, young people and emerging career pathways
Collingwood FC renewed its partnership with Access Covers Australia for a further 2 years - the brand will feature on Club doctor and physiotherapists’ bibs on match-day
Adelaide Crows secured a 3-year partnership extension with family-owned business Thomas Foods International which will continue to support the Club’s community programs - the TFI logo will also remain on the AFL and AFLW playing shorts
Brisbane Lions and family-owned fit out and building services company McCormack (which recently brought the new Lions Shop at the Gabba to life) announced a new partnership for the 2026 and 2027 AFL men’s seasons
Port Adelaide welcomed the Barossa Valley’s Teusner Wines to the Club as a Principal Partner on a multi-year deal - The partnership will see Teusner products served in hospitality spaces on game day, and flagship club events
GWS GIANTS welcomed Inglewood Coffee Roasters as an Official Partner for the 2026 AFL season
Adelaide 36ers and BHP extended their partnership which will see the Club continue to deliver impactful community programs (basketball clinics, educational sessions, engagement activities) across key regional centres in SA’s north and far north
Melbourne Storm welcomed leading integrated engineering, construction and urban development business BMD as an Official Partner of its Female Pathways and Women of Storm programs, as part of a 2-year agreement
Brisbane Broncos unveiled a new multi-year partnership with Westfield QLD destinations - shoppers will have the opportunity to win game day tickets & merchandise, and meet Broncos players
nib Newcastle Knights NRLW announced a 2-year back of shorts partnership with local, all female independant real estate agent Salt Property
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles announced a major partnership upgrade and 2-year extension with Solar Battery Partner VoltX Energy which will now feature on the Sea Eagles’ jerseys in the top-of-back position
Brisbane Broncos announced a new 2-year partnership with Queensland-based Coronis which became the Club’s Official Real Estate Agent
Sydney Roosters and Invictus Australia launched a collaboration that will create meaningful opportunities for veterans to connect with – and contribute to – the Roosters community via matchday initiatives, community programs and club events
Perth Bears unveiled its first-ever merchandise collection, developed in collaboration with apparel partner New Balance
Adelaide Thunderbirds and HCF extended their partnership for another 2 years
Melbourne Victory announce CLN Facility Services as a new Associate and Academy Partner - Their logo will feature on the back of both the home and away jerseys for Victory’s Academy teams
World Surf League expanded its partnership with Coastal Property Agents - the Real Estate company claimed the Naming Rights to the Coastal Real Estate Gold Coast Pro Trials event at Snapper Rocks
Under Armour announced the signing of AFL rising star Finn Callaghan, marking a major milestone as the brand’s first men’s AFL athlete in Australia
Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended the Essendon Football Club's President’s Lunch at the MCG for the 2026 Anzac Day match against Collingwood and met with players and coaches pre game
PUMA unveiled Josh Giddey’s First Basketball Shoe - The PUMA All-Pro Nitro 2 Josh Giddey drops on May 2
PUMA officially moved into a brand-new headquarters in Cremorne (relocating after 40 years in Moorabbin) and celebrated the move with retail partners, sporting teams and PUMA athletes such as Nedd Brockmann, Josh Giddey, Linden Hall and Emily Bates
adidas made marathon history in London as Sabastian Sawe set a world record of 1:59:30, and Tigist Assefa also set the women's record at 2:15:41 - they both wore Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 which sold out in limited Monday pre-orders within minutes and hit resale prices of $3000+
Media and sponsorships agency Rifle acquired specialist podcasting business SHOUT Collective
Sportsnet Holidays secured a multi-year partnership with the NFL and will offer official travel packages to the first-ever regular season NFL game in Melbourne between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers
World Fencing League held its debut event in Los Angeles with a viewership in the millions and a sell out crowd which included the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Kim Kardashian
FIFA World Cup fans are set to pay $200 for train tickets for a 15 minute trip to MetLife Stadium from Manhattan’s Penn Station, nearly 11 times the regular $18 fare for the roughly 15-minute, 14-kilometre ride
The rise of the athlete arrival economy
There was a time when the only thing that mattered about arriving at a stadium was being on time. Now, it’s increasingly become more about being seen.
Across global sport, a new layer of the spectacle is emerging—Athlete Arrivals. The tunnel is no longer an athlete entrance.
It’s a stage.
A runway.
A content engine.
And increasingly, a commercial asset hiding in plain sight.
Athlete arrivals are increasingly doubling as a fashion runway
The shift is simple but powerful: athletes arriving in their own clothes, not club-issued uniforms.
It’s a subtle change with outsized impact.
What used to be a closed, operational moment is now an open, broadcasted spectacle. Cameras are waiting. Social feeds are primed. And athletes are responding, leaning into fashion and self-expression.
International athletes, teams and leagues are leading the way
In the U.S., the athlete-arrival spectacle is already institutionalised.
Lighting, staging, photography, every detail is often engineered.
Players from major leagues have embraced it. For example:
NBA - Xmas day fits (below)
NFL - Big fits from Wild Card Sunday - here
NHL - Mikhail Sergachev fits - here
NSWL - athlete arrival examples - here
The list goes on.
Casual fits are spreading across sports…
The ATP just launched its new ‘Athlete Arrivals’ fashion concept at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where multiple athletes collaborated with former GQ Fashion Director Mobolaji Dawodu to define their individual style.
Teams & leagues are commercialising
Liverpool FC x Tommy Hilfiger
In January, Liverpool FC announced Tommy Hilfiger as its Official Global Partner - the American brand is outfitting both the men’s and women’s teams across key moment of the season, including on arrival to key events and match days.
Unrivaled x Sephora
Sephora has a high-profile partnership with breakaway women’s basketball League, Unrivaled, focused on enhancing the player experience and identifying meaningful ways to integrate beauty into the league’s daily ecosystem - a core feature of this partnership is the ‘Sephora Tunnel’.
Brand collaborations have been showing up across some of soccer’s biggest teams and leagues
Real Madrid arriving in Louis Vuitton - here
AC Milan’s x Off-White collaboration - here
Chelsea players wearing bespoke Nike Boreas Tech designed by Maxime Black - here
Manchester City’s x C.P. Company - here
The arrival moment is expanding, and every touchpoint is becoming content
It’s no longer just about the walk into the stadium. It also includes:
Players stepping off planes
Athletes arriving at hotels
Trade day arrivals & exits
…Even partner and celebrity entrances are being captured - e.g. Willy Chavarria and YG arrived to NBA All-Star weekend in true LA style - here.
It’s not just about fashion
Athlete arrivals aren’t purely an opportunity to showcase fashion - Athlete’s such as Devon Booker and Luka Doncic show off their luxury cars on arrival to match days.
The trend is visible when major sports events come to Australia
The F1 Paddock at the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix doubles as a catwalk for drivers.
At AO26, Naomi Osaka stunned the tennis world when she entered Rod Laver Arena during prime time on Nine, wearing floating custom creations from London-based couturier Robert Wun and Nike.
The impact was immediate and global:
Footage was shown across traditional media channels all over the world
Social media blew up - e.g. 6m+ views on the Official Australian Open Instagram
The post quickly drew reactions from celebrities across fashion, music, television and sports
In Australia…
There’s been a major push from Australian athletes and media to shake up the players’ dress-code on match day
Locally, momentum is building. Broadcasters like Channel 7 and Fox Footy are actively pushing for change to take place within the AFL, recognising the storytelling upside of showcasing player personalities before the first bounce.
Players are aligned.
Figures like Jack Ginnivan and Patrick Dangerfield have been advocating for relaxed dress codes, opening the door for more expressive, casual arrivals.
…And clubs are beginning to experiment.
Melbourne Demons became first-movers
The Melbourne Demons were first to move.
The payoff wasn’t just engagement from traditional fans, but the organic crossover into fashion, influencer and lifestyle media.
Note: They’re undefeated since embracing the casuals.
Suncorp Super Netball’s Melbourne Mavericks are following closely, signalling that this isn’t confined to one code.
The opportunity for Australian sports
Currently, no Australian team or league fully “owns” the arrival moment yet. Melbourne Demons are closest. Others are circling. But the opportunity is wide open… and there’s also room for many players.
The athlete appetite and media demand already exists
NRL’s biggest stars have been organically attracting attention for their fashion choices:
Reece Walsh was captured sporting an eye-catching Dior Oblique Crossbody Bag valued at $2,900 when he made his Kangaroos arrival at the team hotel
Nathan Cleary was spotted with a Versace Barocco-print messenger bag fresh from an 18-hour-flight from Las Vegas
AFL stars are also embracing fashion & beauty outside of match day
AFL and AFLW stars Isaac Quaynor, Cody Weightman, Changkuoth Jiath, Mon Conti, Sophie McKay and Matilda Scholz recently featured on the Melbourne Fashion Festival catwalk.
Isaac Quaynor, in particular, is rapidly building a profile beyond football by aligning himself with beauty and fashion brands. He’s recently collaborated with the likes of Armani Beauty, Mecca, Ralph Lauren, Myer, cartier, eBay, Prada, Valentino, unison etc.
The AFL have been dabbling in the concept
Players got creative with their match day attire in the lead up to AFLX - Alex Rance arrived riding a skateboard
West Coast players took inspiration from NBA stars as they flaunted their fashion chops with ‘tunnel walk’ fits before their intraclub clash
AFL and Colgate just extended their partnership which includes Naming Rights to the AFL Brownlow Medal Red Carpet - now known as the ‘Colgate Red Carpet’
Athlete arrivals… A major opportunity for women’s sports?!
As women’s sport continues to rise, many traditionally feminine categories remain underrepresented in sponsorship. But that’s changing rapidly…
Matildas x Beare Park
Around the time that the above clip that was posted (a few years ago) on the Matildas’ social media featuring the players wearing luxury female designer brand BEARE PARK, it received:
1.5+ million views on Instagram
683k+ views on TikTok
It outperformed some other onfield/matchday related posts by as much as 1000%.
WNBL x Sephora
Recently, the WNBL announced Sephora as a partner of the League’s MVP Awards Night, and that it will join the competition as a Foundation Partner and Official Beauty Partner in the WNBL 2026/27 season. Will the ‘Sephora Tunnel’ be launched in Australia next season?
Related: New & noteworthy sports partnerships
Athlete arrivals could be a major unlock for beauty brands
Beauty brands are getting active in Australian sports.
Brands such as Mecca, Bondi Sands, Shark Beauty, Ralph Lauren, Unilever (Rexona, Dove, Lifebuoy and Lux), L’Oréal, La Roche-Posay, Maybelline, CeraVe, Cetaphil are already partnering with athletes, teams and leagues.
Related: Beauty’s growing presence in sports
Athlete arrivals and pre-game routines and rituals create an opportunity for brands within the beauty category, and particularly within women’s sport. These moments create a natural, high-attention environment for beauty integration, where product use doesn’t feel staged, it feels expected. From skincare routines pre-match to glam moments captured on arrival, these touchpoints offer brands a way to show up authentically, rather than interruptively.
When brands invest in women’s sport it can create a powerful virtuous cycle
When beauty brands invest in women’s sports, they fuel its momentum, driving better performance, greater visibility, and a growing fan base. In turn, this expanded platform delivers stronger ROI for brands, empowering them to reinvest and amplify the cycle even further.
So, what’s the hold up?
Broadcasters want more personality. Players want more freedom. Fans want more authenticity.
What’s holding it back? Governance and tradition.
Clubs and leagues traditional held a tight grip of control over players and team narratives, and they have existing commercial obligations with sponsors that need to be met. Although these factors present as current barriers, a lot of industry stakeholders are keen to keep pushing the boundaries and expose the game to new audiences, so alternative brands integration options that deliver value and visibility (such as players walking infront of LED branded signage) are currently being workshopped.
For Australian sport, the opportunity is clear - teams and leagues who are prepared to give freedom to their athletes to openly engage and express themselves in front of media as much or as little as they like will benefit greatly from the production of relatable, engaging (and sometimes controversial) content. This content will enable them better connect with new audiences and the everyday fan, which can help contribute to growth and better commercial outcomes.
Related: Premium brands are rewriting the rules of sports sponsorship
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Bursty - Account Manager
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